Preparations took around half an hour, and after they were all ready and everyone was warned that there might be another battle, the only thing they could do was wait.
Andrew watched at the sensor display as Runir managed to hide almost half a dozen of gunships in the meteorites.
The maneuvers the gunships were doing looked like standard drills; however, under the disguise, one after the other some of them disappeared from the sensors.
They all hoped that the merchant ships were not paying too much attention to this, or they might figure out that something was wrong.
Watching this display, Andrew wondered what was going on and why the merchants refused to tell him the conditions over the comms.
He knew Tanera well enough to figure out that something was wrong.
She was never nervous around him, much less when they spoke through the comms, and the hint at the armor indicated that he might need it, however he had no idea why would he need an armor during the meeting with the merchants.
-The merchant ships are coming out of FTL.
Lanarine said, pulling him out of his thoughts.
The three ships jumped into the system, quite close to the station, and Tanera immediately hailed the station.
-Andrew, what's going on?
She asked, even more nervous than before.
-We had a skirmish with the Adurian fleet today, and Runir wants to test some ideas about the defensive strategies.
I warned her that you are coming, so there is nothing to worry about.
Andrew answered.
-Alright, see you at the docking module.
The elf said, and ended the call.
-Ladies, keep tasers around you at all times, and dont hesitate to call in the drones and droids if there is any trouble.
Nairin, be ready to activate the shields and weapons systems at any time, and if you see anything suspicious, activate them without waiting on my command.
Lan, station the drones and droids as soon as we arrive at the conference module.
Sarill, keep monitoring all communications in the system and around it.
If you find anything suspicious, contact Aelita immediately.
Andrew instructed them again, just to be sure that they knew what to do if something happened.
-We know, go already or you'll be late.
Lanarine rolled her eyes.
Andrew chuckled but didn't say anything more and left.
He arrived at the docking modules just as the ships were docking.
A moment later, Tanera, accompanied by two other beings wearing hooded robes disembarked from her ship and was joined by another six aliens from the other two ships.
-Welcome back.
Andrew welcomed her.
-It's good to be back.
She answered.
-Who are your friends?
The human asked, hoping to avoid the topic of the armor he was wearing.
-These two are my bodyguards.
She pointed at the beings that accompanied her.
-Every merchant needs to have them now.
This is my direct superior in the guild.
Pointing at the being that looked like a wolf-sized spider mixed with a duck.
-And this is the main supervisor for this sector.
She pointed at another being this time humanoid, being who was as thin as a toothpick, but that was all he could say as the alien had a space suit on and didn't seem interested in taking it off.
-Let's relocate to the conference module, and you can then tell me about the conditions of my removal from the black list.
Andrew invited his guests.
As they arrived at the conference module, Tarina greeted everyone.
Andrew sent her here to wait as his diplomatic advisor.
-So what are the terms of removing me from the black list and reinstating my access to the merchant market?
Andrew asked the moment they all took their places.
The spider-like alien had to stand, as there was nothing for it to sit on, and the bodyguards also stood behind the merchants they were protecting..
A detail Andrew needed to correct in the future as not all aliens were humanoids.
-There are several conditions that you will need to fulfill for that to happen, so please let me list them without interruption.
After that we can negotiate if there are any conditions that you canot accept.
The thin alien spoke in a robotic voice of the translator.
Andrew nodded, agreeing to listen to what they had to say.
-To reinstate your privilege of using the merchant's guild market.
You can't build a jump gate for the next 180 days.
You can't conduct any research for the same duration of time.
You will need to deposit the two armor sets you received from the Moon Elf Star Empire in the guild warehouse for a minimum of 360 days.
The production of your shipyards cannot include ships bigger than a destroyer for a minimum of 360 days.
You cannot conquer another system for at least 180 days.
Additionally you will need to pay a compensation for damaging the guild's image by attacking vessels traveling in company of a merchant ship.
Lastly, you will need to return certain individuals to their rightful owners or governing entities.
The alien finished the list.
-Do you agree to these conditions?
The spider-like alien asked with a hint of arrogance and irritation in the translated voice.
-First, let me ask you something.
Andrew said with a smile that anyone who knew him would recognize as a warning.
-Did you come here just to waste my time?
Ha asked, coldly.
-I don't understand.
The thin alien said, surprised at the question and the change in this human's behavior.
-All of these conditions are either utterly ridiculous or simply impossible for me to accept.
So, either you came here to provoke me or to waste my time, not that I care which one is the truth.
However, if this is all you have to say, then you can leave immediately.
I decline these conditions.
-Can you at least tell us why you are declining them?
There might be some margin for negotiations if we know the reason.
The thin alien said.
-Alright, I'll tell you from the beginning.
The jump gate is necessary for further development of my territory and to connect to the empire this territory is a part of.
Research is even more vital for further development and survival.
Without superior or at least equal technology to my rival's this territory will be destroyed sooner or later.
The two armor sets you talked about are not gifts; they represent Aelita's and my station in the empire.
To even consider depositing them in the warehouse I have no access to could be considered treason, not to mention I would need a personal permission from the emperor himself to relinquish it to another elf, let alone the guild.
Which, by the way, I can't get without a jump gate.
The next in line is ship production.
I just got the possibility to build any ship I want up to the super dreadnought class if I have enough resources, and you want me to only build destroyers for a whole year.
It's the same as telling me to commit suicide.
The ships I'm up against are already heavy frigate class, and in at most three months, they will upgrade to destroyers; in half a year, there will be cruisers involved in every major battle in this galaxy.
A year later, I would most likely have a bunch of destroyers going against a battleship.
Do I need to explain the result of such a battle?
The same goes for not conquering more systems.
No new systems equals less space for new arrivals and fewer resources.
Not to mention that soon enough, there won't be any more systems to take over without a war.
Then there is this whole compensation thing.
Compensation for what, exactly?
Almost every time there is a ship accompanying a merchant vessel in my system, they attack me, and I need to defend myself.
I have proof of that in every case you'd care to mention.
The last on the list is returning some individuals to whoever claims they belong to them.
It will never happen as long as I'm alive.
Everyone on this station and in this whole territory is here because they want to be here or because they belong to me, and even then, they still want to be here with or without an active slavery chip.
Andrew finished his speech, dismantling all the conditions proposed by the guild.
-Do you understand now why I'm rejecting all the conditions?
He asked the shocked aliens, who had no answer to his speech.
They expected a young, inexperienced human who would jump at the possibility of being removed from the black list, no matter what conditions they proposed.
However, the reality was way different, and they were left speechless without any argument to support even one of the conditions.
What's more, the diplomatic advisor didn't even say a word so far, making them even more shocked.
What got Andrew's attention at that moment was the fact that Tanera was becoming more and more nervous, like she was expecting this to happen and what was to follow was not something she wished to witness.
-It's a shame; we really wanted this meeting to end differently, but since there is no possibility of you accepting our conditions, then so be it.
The thin alien said with a sigh, which was strange when he used the translator with the mechanical voice setting.
-Kill him.
The mix between the duck and a spider alien shouted and all six bodyguards rushed to attack Andrew.
Two of them had some kind of energy weapons, and the other four carried blades that looked to be extremely hot.
At the same time, both aliens left the conference module, leaving Andrew with Tanera, Tarina, and six assassins.